justlittle | inbox - Mask or Menace

[ He'd seen the broadcast on the Nets. Between that and the cryptic message, that had sealed the deal in convincing Bean to move away from Jeopardy. He didn't want to be here when Atropos arrived. ]

"Acting in concert?" Acting how? Some kind of concentrated force?

[ Of course, his mind is picturing a military strike of some kind. But the majority of imPorts are civilians. ]

Our powers distort this world by their mere presence. If they are activated en masse, they will provide a means by which the Fates may join us here. Only when all three are present will Atropos be vulnerable. If we can act quietly and ahead of OTO's timetable, then we may gain the upper hand. [To an extent: He does not feel that he needs to mention how dire the stakes are.]

I am contacting those who are willing to participate and can remain discrete. There is no set location or time for a summoning attempt, and there will not be until we are ready. If you have any others that you would consider suitable, I will need their names.

[ All Bean can picture is a mass of imPorts standing in a circle, all using their powers at the same time like some sort of weird circus act. The only real way he would be able to contribute is by growing and shrinking, looking like a weird size-changing spectacle.

But if it will avert the apocalypse, he'll suffer for looking strange. ]

I can think of a few. Finn... The one that works with Aegis. If you haven't shared this with them yet, I could get him to bring them on board. Midnighter and Apollo would be good to help, too. I can secure their discretion.

The rest of my contacts are kids. I trust you have no problem with that?

I am already in communication with Aegis, and Apollo. If you wish to reach out to Midnighter, do so.

[His response to the question is a dismissive gesture.] Age is no factor in competency. All who are capable will be required.

Apollo will probably tell Midnighter already, but if he doesn't, I will.

Then the names I'll add to the list are Angus McDonald, Bart Allen, and Norman.

[ He pauses slightly... ] How many imPorts do you think we'll need?

We did not receive a precise number, only that a critical mass of imPorts must be reached. I believe that all may be useful in some way.

OTO will try to stop us. That is inevitable. The more who become involved, the more chance we will be discovered. Distributing the location and time for the summoning covertly and with minimal lead time will be vital. But a public announcement of misinformation to an uninformed imPort population will also be of use.

[ Bean resolves to reach out to his contacts as soon as possible, and to tell them to reach out to their contacts as well. If they need a critical mass, then word needs to spread... carefully. ]

You intend to mislead the public? Drop fake information somewhere where OTO will see it, then get the real word out another way.

[ He thinks for a moment. ]

There is the Mirror Network. I've never posted to it, but I know it exists, and it's fairly secure, as far as I can tell.

Yes. [The imPort reliance on the network complicated matters, but he was working on solutions.]

It is still accessed through government-issued communicators. Encryption of a signal is useless if end-point monitoring is taking place.

Unless you have a better idea of how to communicate a message to a "critical mass" of imPorts without the OTO finding out...?

[ Knowing Jadus, it probably involved some psychic mumbo jumbo that bean didn't understand. ]

There are feasible methods. [From a hidden pocket of his robes, something small and winged scuttles, crawling onto his arm. He holds it out: it has small camera eyes, microphone ears and a speaker-grate mouth. It is a small thing, and its range of flight is limited. But imPorts cluster around limited locations.

You must have noticed how easy it is to find the vast majority of imPorts, with proper surveillance.

[All he has to do is send them to government housing projects and have them watch who comes and goes. It would even work for himself. He has felt no threat that has stopped him from frequenting this place, even now.]

[ Bean's eyes follow the creature, uneasy. ]

We do tend to make ourselves known.

[ Satisfied it's not going to suddenly lunge at him or anything, Bean flicks his gaze back up to Jadus' blank mask. ]

How many of those do you have? Enough to send to all the cities?

There are enough. [And he had more of their raw materials, as well, both biological and technological.]

Do you have access to local communication networks? [He had acquired a number of these phones without named contracts. They were less reliable at the moment than the Network, but that could change.]

I do.

[ He has a burner phone and a couple of laptops. He has even more in his surveillance van, but he's not about to tell Jadus about that. ]

What do you need from me?

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